One experiment method for observing a sample using a microscope is photographing microscopic images at a predetermined interval (hereafter referred to as “time lapse photography”), reproducing a series of photographed images after photographing completes, and observing the change of the state of the sample in a time series as a moving image (hereafter referred to as “time lapse photography experiment”) (e.g. see Patent Document 1). The time lapse photography experiment method is extremely effective as an experiment method to observe the change of a live cell in a time series, for example.
[Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2002-277754
The time lapse photography experiment, however, extends over a long period of time (e.g. several hours). If the experiment must be started over again due to an incorrect procedure of the experiment, due to an apparatus not operating normally or due to the shift of the photographing position, the loss of time that this error generates is critical. Hence it is necessary to check whether photographing is progressing normally without generating a problem. But the conventional operation of each apparatus and inter-connection among apparatuses must be visually confirmed to verify the normal execution of time lapse photography, which is time consuming, and during which it is easy to overlook an abnormality.